London falls behind the North East in leading the charge on electric vehicle infrastructure

The uptake of electric vehicles continues to gather pace and is on course to meet net zero targets, indicating that EVs are generally welcomed and regarded as a good thing. However, concerns of a level playing field when it comes to charging infrastructure and availability could soon act as a further deterrent towards consumers making the switch to EVs.

While the UK has been on a strong trajectory until now, sitting 151,236 ahead of the exponential adoption, there is a general consensus that this may not be the case for much longer. Volkswagen Financial Services UK’s (VWFS) third instalment of its quarterly EV Tracker Report has found that the North East holds the highest provision of charge points across the UK at 5.4 units per 100,000 people. The North East has in fact taken over as the leading region, with London now falling behind at 5.1 units per 100,000 people.

This latest edition of the tracker series harnesses data from independent, reputable sources, alongside exclusively commissioned consumer research of more than 1,500 individuals nationwide, to present a truly contextual picture of the current status, as well as recent and likely progress, of EV adoption across the UK. While EV sales have continued to rise, concerns still clearly remain around the available charging infrastructure and its ability to meet current and future needs.

The European Commission recommends a ratio of one charger for every ten electric vehicles. That means for the current fleet of just over 900,000 EVs, some 90,000 chargers would be needed. However, while there is overall growth and this ratio doesn’t account for the significant provision of home and workplace chargers, the roll-out of public chargers is not happening at sufficient pace.